Toothpick holder



y 3, 1932- M. JOHNSON 1,856,559

TOOTHPICK HOLDER Filed March 11. 1930 WE SATISFJZ INVENTOR.

Y L. f! cfo/yzvsozv' BY W 7 6 01 A TTORNEYS.

Patented May '3, 1932 PATENTv OFFICE LOUIS M. JOHNSON, 01? CONCORD,CALIFORNIA TOOTHPICK HOLDER Application filed March 11, 1930. Serial No.434,889.

The present invention relates to improvements in toothpick holders andits principal object is to arrange a plurality of toothpicks in the formof a book which allows a per- 5, son to carry the toothpicks in hispocket and to break them out of the book one after the other as he mayneed them. i

A further object of the invention is to arrange a plurality oftoothpicks in book form intended for handing out as advertising matter,the idea being to make the book sufficiently useful to induce a personto keep the same and to read the advertising matter from time to timeuntil the toothpicks are ex; hausted.

A further object of the invention is to provide a toothpick that isunbreakable, sliverless and sanitary.

A further object of the invention is to provide a toothpick book thatmay be constructed very cheaply and in which the toothpicks are coveredexcept when the book is opened for the withdrawal of a toothpick, and inwhich the toothpicks are arranged in spaced relation so that a personmay break away one ofthe toothpicks without touching any of the others.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as thespecification proceeds. v The preferred form of my invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which s Figure 1 shows mytoothpick holder or book in perspective view,

Figure 2 shows the holder or book in plan -view, the book being openedto disclose the toothpick arrangement; and

Figure 8 is a longitudinal vertical section through the book.

, While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, I wish tohave it understood that various changes or modifications may be madewithin the scope of the claims hereto attached without departingthereof, the tapered members projecting in spaced and parallel relationand in the plane of the base. These tapered members are substantially ofthe length of toothpicks and are intended to be used for that purpose. 5Where the tapered members or toothpicks join the base, I provide agroove 3 which facilitates the breaking away of the individualtoothpicks. The entire device including base and-toothpicks ispreferably made in the form of a rectangle.

To protect the toothpicks I use a cover 4 of the same width as the base1 and of a length sufficient that it may be glued to the base with oneend as shown at 5, then folded over the points of the toothpicks andfastened to Jhe other face of the base with its other en It should beunderstood that instead of gluing one end of the cover to the base, any7 other means of fastening may be adopted. For fastening the loose endof the cover to the opposite face of the base 1, I provide a smallprojection 6 in the base preferably made by bending a small section outof the plane of the base. The free end of the cover is formed with asmall slot 7 adapted for engagement with the projection 6. It should benoted that the projection 6 points away from the front edge 8 of thecover and that the recess 7 is positioned in such a manner that it canbe engaged with the projection 6 only by taking hold of the sheet ofcelluloid at opposite ends and slightly compressing the same whereby thesheet which is made elastic is bent out of its plane, and the spacingbetween the projections 6 and the front edge 8 is reducedcorrespondingly. After the proj ection 6 has thus been introduced in theslot 7 the grip on the book is released, the sheet 9 of celluloidsprings back into straightened position, and the projection 6 takes afirm hold in the slot -7. For opening the cover it is again necessary tosubject the device to endwise pressure. The cover itself is principallyintended to be used for the display of advertising matter ,as isindicated on the drawings. One good way of using the device would be forinstance by way of cooperation between a garage and a restaurant, the

garage owner carrying the expense of manufacturing or buying the de-'vices and placing thereon his advertising handing out toothpicks isparticularly sanitary since each person comes. in contact only withthose toothpicks intended for his own use, and the handing out of thesetoothpick books does away with the promiscuous selection of toothpicksfrom a large stack or pile practiced at the present time, Where eachperson in selecting one toothpick touches three or four that will beused later by some 7 other person.

. 'mentary sets of scrlbed The arrangement is very handy, compact andsmall and adapted for being carried in a vest pocket, the cover servingto keep the toothpicks clean, and the toothpick arrangement being suchthat each toothpick is-firmly held in place until used, and-is preventedfrom working into the cloth material of the suit. r

For separating the toothpicks it is merely necessary to open the book,grasp one of the toothpicks near the ba e. turn it gently whereby thetoothpick will break awav from the base, and is now ready for use. While1 preferably use celluloid for my device, it should be understood thatother material will be found practical. For the use of my particularlocking meansit is necessary that the material be elastic and springyand adapted to yield to endwise pressure.

To facilitate and cheapen the manufacture of my toothpick holders it isadvisable to out two complete sets out of one single sheet of materialin one operation. The blank sheet of material would correspond in widthto the width of the base, and in length to the combined length of thetoothpicks and the double base, so that by a single cutting operation onan intermediate section two sets of toothpicks would be formed, one setadhering to one base and the other set adhering to the other base. Thenumber of toothpicks attached to one base would correspond to that shownin the drawings. In this manner two completoothpicks could be formedwithout waste whatever.

I claim:

1. A toothpick holder comprising a base having a plurality of toothpicksprojecting therefrom and made of resilient material, a cover adapted tobe folded for enclosing the base and picks, and fastening means for thecover made to release upon applying endwise pressure to the-oppositeends of the folded potlder and toward the central portion of the a ter.

2. A toothpick holder of the character decomprising a base having aplurality of toothpicks projecting therefrom and made adapted to be bentback upon itself intermediate ,of the cover ends so as to enclose thepicks, and a projection rising from the base and pointing away from thebend in the cover and arranged for passing through an aperture in thefree flap of the cover, whereby-the cover can be disengaged fom theprojection by applying endwise pressure to one of the base ends and thebent Section of the cover in a direction toward the central portion ofthe folded holder.

Signed at Martinez, Costa and State of California, this 3rd day ofMarch, A. D. 1930.

LOUIS M. JOHNSON.

in the county of Contra v

